Looking at the calendar on the wall, it was July 2004.
Li Shiguang frantically rubbed his temples, looking at the empty office environment before him. Combined with the memories in his mind that did not belong to him, he was absolutely certain that he had been reborn!
As a die-hard football fan, after watching the Chinese national team's World Cup qualifier against Singapore last night, I drank a couple more glasses of alcohol in a fit of anger. When I woke up, I found myself reborn in Leeds in 2004.
The good news is that the original owner of the body he possessed was a wealthy second-generation Chinese American.
The bad news is that his cheap father, who supported him to become a rich second-generation, collapsed last month.
In this life, my adoptive father is a second-generation immigrant and a die-hard football fan. A few years ago, his hometown team, Leeds United, performed well, so he spent most of his wealth to buy a portion of the team's shares, becoming the team's second-largest shareholder.
He thought he could capitalize on his success and make a small fortune from his hobby. However, club manager Ridsdale, relying on Leeds United's previous good performance, took on a lot of big-name players in the 2001-2002 season through massive borrowing. He hoped to fill the financial gap by qualifying for the Champions League, but Leeds United only finished fourth in the league that season, failing to even qualify for the Champions League.
In just one year, Leeds United's debts exploded, forcing them to rely on massive sell-offs to stay afloat, which resulted in even worse performance for Leeds United.
At the beginning of last year, Ridsdale was kicked out of the club, and his father bought his shares and took over as the club manager. He wanted to make a big splash, but the high debt made it difficult for him to move forward.
After a year of struggle, Leeds United were relegated to the Championship before the season was even over.
Li Shiguang is quite familiar with Leeds United, a team known as the Young Guard.
Historically, the club now has a debt of approximately 80 million euros (for ease of reading, the currency will be euro throughout this article).
In this summer transfer window, in order to cut huge wage bills, not only will a large number of first-team players be transferred or released, but even Leeds United's own home stadium, Elland Road, will be sold. Afterwards, the cunning Bates, who sold Chelsea to Abramovich, will acquire Leeds United for a very low price. However, the stingy Bates did not make any new investments in Leeds United. Thus, Leeds United embarked on a 16-year journey back to the Premier League...
Thinking about this, Li Shiguang, who succeeded his father as the club manager, felt a headache coming on.
After careful consideration, it seems we are now caught between a rock and a hard place.
Following historical trends, Abramovich, who has been running Chelsea for a season, will continue to spend his money this summer, bringing stars like Drogba and Robben to Stamford Bridge, thus heralding the start of the Premier League's big-money era.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney began to make their mark at Manchester United. And then there's Arsenal, who won the title unbeaten last season – it's terrifying to even think about.
If he decides to sell Leeds United, he can only watch as the club's home stadium is put up for sale, and then the club is sold to the not-so-reputable old man, Bates.
If that's the case, I'd probably be drowned in the spittle of Leeds United's die-hard fans.
Moreover, under these circumstances, the shares he holds wouldn't fetch much money.
But if they don't sell, based on the meager funds left by his father in the original owner's memories, let alone returning to the Premier League next season, just managing to avoid being relegated to League One as in history would be a miracle.
Moreover, as far as he knew, Bates had formally expressed his intention to acquire Leeds United before his father passed away. Now that his father was gone, Bates would definitely take advantage of the situation and continue to try to buy Leeds United from him at an extremely low price.
If I lose my shares in this club, I'll be all alone and have nothing left!
Just as Li Shiguang was feeling worried, a voice rang in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have activated the strongest club system!]
"System is binding..."
Upon hearing this voice, Li Shiguang's eyes lit up.
"Holy crap? As expected, being reborn or transmigrated always comes with a cheat code!"
[Ding! System binding detected for the first time. New player gift pack skills have been issued. Please check!]
[Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the skill: Super Scout!]
[Ding! Congratulations on receiving the newbie reward: Peak Buffon template trial card (4 months)]
Upon hearing this voice, Li Shiguang, just like the protagonist in the novels he had read in his previous life, had a thought and began to call upon the system.
Sure enough, the next second, a semi-transparent system panel appeared in front of him.
[Host]: Li Shiguang
[Clubs Owned]: Leeds United
[Economic Situation]: Severely indebted (80 million euros)
[Team Status]: Low morale
Available Funds: €20 million
[Fixed Skill]: Super Scout (Can freely view the detailed attributes of any player)
[Skill Pack]: Peak Buffon Template Trial Card (4 months, applicable to any player)
[Ding! The task system has been activated]
[Ding! Mission triggered: A resounding victory!]
[Mission Objective: Leeds United are currently in dire straits. The host is tasked with rebuilding the team as quickly as possible and securing a victory in the first round of the league.]
[Mission Reward: 1 Golden Treasure Chest]
"Wow, that's pretty detailed..."
Just as Li Shiguang was murmuring to himself, his eyes subconsciously fell on the posters of star players on the wall, and then the system panel refreshed.
[Ronaldinho] (The author tries to use familiar football star names as much as possible. There are many Brazilian names that are difficult to pronounce, so I don't want to pad the word count in this regard, and it's also easier for everyone to read.)
Age: 24
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